Freedom Struggle – It was an overflow of emotions, a unique aspect of Indians that had earned us freedom from the cold and unfeeling British. It brought all the Indians together in spite of our boundaries of religion, cost, gender and race, as one united entity against the British power. It enabled millions to challenge the British Raj. On a single call for non-violence by Mahatma Gandhi, Indians took it to heart. A great wave was launched against the colonial rulers following the Quit India call. Finally, the British had to bow before the unbridled fervour of the freedom struggle.
Emotional Charge - It has been sixty one years. Since then many things have changed and others are in the course of gradual change. But the emotion has remained constant. A poor performance in a cricket match sends thousands of excited fans in a rage, raring to burn their idols' effigies. Switching to the other side, when the team wins, the fans uphold their idols as gods, bombard them with praises, and place them on a pedestal.
But unfortunately, this emotional side takes its toll on logic. An emotionally charged upsurge following Sanjay Dutt’s six-year imprisonment was as predictable as it was despicable in a legal light. His role in the film “Munnabhai MBBS” left a deep impact on Indians, and after the sentence people were found saying “Munna does not deserve this”, and “He has paid much for the crime”. But it does not compensate for the criminal act he has committed, and he ought to respect the laws of the land.
Coming Back to the Position of India - After sixty one years, India has gone through a massive spate of development and remarkable changes in all spheres. It has come a long way. Etching its place in history and all ready to make a paradigm shift in economic equations, India has indeed arrived. The green revolution by M.S. Swaminathan was one of the few initial achievements which paved the path for future. India’s first peaceful nuclear explosion in 1974, and the second at Pokharan, put the nation in Global arena for nuclear capability.
Change in the IT industry - A significant change has been witnessed in the IT industry. Today, India is in a commanding position due to the boom and growth in this industry. India has received an international status in the IT world as a central hub of IT services, which is a proof of the power of independent India. India’s large transnational companies like Reliance Info Ltd., Videocon, etc. are doing exceedingly well. They are the symbol of the new age economy and also provide a pool of jobs.
Achievements - We cannot forget that ours is the largest democracy in the world and we have been able to maintain that. Adult-Franchisee, fair elections, a free press, and the Indian constitution that upholds all these, are indeed proud achievements.
Shortcomings - But there is
always the other side of the coin-the shortcomings. According
to world bank statistics, 45% of Indian children under the age
of five are malnourished, infant mortality rate is high, agriculture,
which is the main occupation in India, is facing a crisis. Public
health, infrastructure, tourism, labor intensive industries
fail to achieve their optimum. Crisis against women and children
are rapidly increasing.
Our Responsibility - A country is known by its people. It is in the hands of the citizen of the country to mould it in any shape they want. So, it is ‘our’ responsibility to make the next sixty years better than the last. Yes, Gen-X may find India lacking on many fronts, but they still love their country.
The youth, especially, has to take the initiative and come to the forefront utilizing all its energies to take India to its deserving position. In this context, we can think of a dialogue from the famous movie Rang de Basanti. “No country is perfect; we have to make it perfect”.
Conclusion - Thus, we can conclude that sixty-one years of independence has given India many milestones as well as failures, but the fact is that we need to move on. Today we are the proud possessors of a human resource pool brimming with talent. Today, a young nation with big dreams stands poised on the threshold of true greatness, eager to act on the opportunity, and take on the responsibility of global leadership.
We still have to achieve a lot, so let us hope for the best!
Frankly my dear, it’s just about opinion… is the glass half-empty or half-full?
